How many bartenders and servers ?

We had one bartender, recommended by the company we hired. We never had a line.

I was just at a wedding of 115 with one bartender and never an issue. The only way I see a problem is if you anticipate a large variety of mixed drinks.

We're having almost the exact same number of people you are having with a plated meal as well. My venue also said they will have 1 bartender and 3-4 servers. My FH was concerned at first too and wanted to pay extra to have a second bartender but that was when we were expecting about 100 people. Now that we're at 75, we're comfortable with one bartender. I think you'll be fine with what they are suggesting. They do this all the time, they know what they need.

Our venue recommends 1 bartender per 75 people. So that's what we are doing! We are planning on 175 people. For our plated meal, they planned on 12 waiters & bussers but we are also doing tableside wine.

We had 1 staff per 25 guests. We had wine and beer only so in addition to the standalone bar we had staff walking around with wine during cocktail hour. They also came around to tables during dinner and refilled everyone’s glass with whatever they were drinking.

We have one bartender per 75 guests......I would push for two. They could even be what we call a bar server. You are normally the busiest at the start of cocktail hour. A bar server would be behind the bar for the initial rush and then help in the floor. They check in with the bartender and come back when needed.

I'm sure 1 bartender is fine and I would think 3 servers would be plenty for 70 folks. It's only 20ish people per server.

We are anticipating 100 guests and the venue will have 4 servers with 1 bar tender. I think you will be fine with the numbers they are suggesting.

We are inviting 75 ... Not sure about bartender yet, we meet with them next month. I would think 1 would suffice.
Our caterer recommends 1 server per 15 guests for a plated meal. He included 6 right now in the quote (an extra actually) although that can change with RSVP number. It sounds like you might need 4 servers but they know this info better than I do! You can always ask about an additional server if it makes you feel better.

We are expecting 75 people. We have two servers, two bartenders and several food stations two are action stations with chefs.

Where I bartend we generally say a 75 to 1 ratio. We can even push it to 100 to 1 with zero problems if it is a true open bar (no need to deal with paying) and the people drink mostly beer/wine. If you are planning on having a lot of non pre batched mixed drinks, (like the specialty cocktail bar I work at in the summer), it is closer to a 50 to 1 ratio

If you want good service 1 server for every 15 people is formula used for every formal meals catering service I ever worked for. Remember, after initially putting down all plated dinners, that leaves only one server with 3 tables of 10, while the other heads to the kitchen to set out trays ready to carry in the next course. Also, during the meal, with 1 bartender and servers bringing up orders for whole tables, one can do it if fast and few choices. But during cocktails, and when the dance floor is open and people are coming for their own drinks as well as servers, you need a minimum of 2 for 50- 120 guests who may drink alcohol, assuming servers do non-alcoholic drinks. Sounds odd. But a server comes up with a drink order, it says, 6 whiskey sours, 3 white Russians, 4 margaritas straight up, 4 Miller on tap, so bartenders save time, they mix all of the same drinks in small batches. At cocktail time, everyone wants a drink at once. And at cocktails and dance time, almost all drinks are one of this, one of that. So it can take up to 3x as long to fill the same numbers of drinks that a server presents in an organized, 3 of this and 4 of that format. And instead of servers waiting while people make up their minds and change them, the bartenders may waste 30% of their time with the order process. I would dispense with every flower, centerpiece, favor, and chair cover, before having less than 5 servers and 2 bartenders for your numbers. Any time the couple get any special service, that pulls one from tables. If 1 server takes 10 min to go to the bathroom and wash up. 30 people are depending on one server til he returns. You have to consider that half of server's time at meals is serving, the other half one is setting up the next thing or clearing dishes while the other cleans up a mess or goes for drinks. With only 3 servers, sometime 1 will be available for 69 while others doing set ups. Should one guest spill milk that runs toward 3 people, one server can be tied up 10 minutes putting down a small tablecloth overlay that is dry, replacing all dishes affected. Suddlenly again one in the kitchen, one doing a mess cleanup, with 3 servers one would be covering 6 tables, maybe 65 guests. BAD Service. This is when people wait ten minutes between soup and salad, and some tables get served 15-20 minutes before others. All should be served in 5-7 minutes, tops. Ask for 1: 15 for servers, 69 guests means 5. And 2 bartenders, unless the choice is 1 beer or 1 wine, no custom drinks.

Our venue provided 1 bartender for every 50 guests. I'm not sure how many servers we ended up having but I think it was around 3-4 and my DH and I had our own server. We had 42 people including us.

We had two bartenders for 130 guests and 1 server for every 12 guests (they did it by tables so every 1.5 tables was another server). The venue coordinator made sure we had our meals and drinks all afternoon at the sweetheart table.

Ours said 2 bartenders for 150 guests, and one server per table of 10-12

I know your concerned but that's actually standard for that number of guests. I work on the side for a catering company and that is how many we will have for a group that size. They're professionals and there should be no issue. Only reason to want 2 bartenders is if you foresee lots of mixed drinks instead of beer and wine.

Thanks for all the insights all - I am less concerned about 3 servers than I am 1 bartender to be honest... In a perfect world I think I would prefer 4 servers and 2 bartenders. On the "optimistic" side, with the exception of the vegetarians, everyone is getting the same meal (surf and turf) so serving shouldn't be too complicated insofar as food delivery.

I have never been to a wedding where servers take drink orders - the bar is usually a get in line sort of thing... (open bar paid by hosts - not a cash bar to be clear!) Maybe it's a geography thing where servers take drink orders? but the typical that I have seen is that the bar closes for an hour during dinner but there's a wine pour... we opted to skip the wine pour and leave the bar open... as my experience with the wine is that it's usually kinda crappy and people would rather keep drinking whatever they are drinking regular... wine will be available at the bar for those who want it...

If we only had one bartender we would have def had lines. We had 113 people and we had two bartenders and a bar back. I would def ask for another bartender or your guests may be waiting.

We had 2 bartenders for 123 people. It was fine, nobody was every waiting for a drink.

I think we had 4 servers, too. It was either 3 or 4, but no more than that.

Our venue recommended 1 bartender per 75 guests. We had 105 people and still decided to hire two so that we could be assured that there would be no hold up. We had 6 or 8 servers for dinner and it worked out fine!